Looking at this from the summer of 2024, I realize this was a very special time for Nogizaka. Just 48 hours before (on April 13th, 2014), at the National Handshake Event at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, three things had transpired that made for a very special day that the fans would never forget: 1) Himetan’s 18th birthday, 2) Rena Matsui’s Kennin membership debut with the group, and 3) perhaps most important, the Under Girls had just blown the roof off of Hall 9 with the very first UnderLive. Judging from the crowd’s tremendous reaction recorded in this video, the energy from that performance was still very much alive in the fans (and the members). I think if a person is fortunate, maybe once in their life they are blessed to discover the birth of something that has the power to change the world; perhaps what is captured here is similar to that moment when you are almost to the top of a roller coaster, but you can’t quite see the top, and the energy is palpable. In the case of the fans, Nogizaka46 was not quite yet a household name, but those that had discovered it were talking about it and introducing the group to anyone who had the ears to hear their excited and endless platitudes. For the members, perhaps the crowd’s reaction was still a new phenomenon; however, it is plain to see their confidence is at a level that they are allowing the energy of their excitement to carry them to almost superhuman physical feats, and with synchronized dance moves bordering on telepathy. It was indeed a rare moment that few fans and groups have the chance to ever experience together, and further proof of Nogizaka’s bond with their fanbase. The women who carry on the tradition that was built here by the hard-working roster of first and second generation founders have much to be proud of, and stand on the shoulders of giants!